Kaelyn is 2

It's official! Kaelyn is 2! Can you believe it? I can! They say it goes fast and I'm sure overall, it will, but I still remember those sleepless nights all too well and the days when little missy is crabby move VERY slowly. So it's not speeding by just yet!

Since Kaelyn's birthday was ON Easter, we had a combined day! We started the weekend by going to Lincoln on Friday since Sean had the day off. We took the camper with us so we could try everything out for the camping season and make sure Kaelyn would still sleep okay in there. We got there in the morning, played for awhile, had lunch, and then I took her to the camper to nap. We built the sides up a little more so she couldn't climb out, that was getting to be an issue last year. So I put her in the bed and went back to my book. I heard her say "Uh!" and I looked up and she was peaking out the side of the tent we had created. I told her to lay down and go to sleep and then I hid elsewhere so she couldn't see me if she peaked out again. She went to sleep and slept her normal amount so it went pretty well. We played the afternoon away and had supper, played some more and then it was time for bed. She did well going to bed, she didn't cry or anything. However, she laid in that tent bed and talked until after 10pm!!! I put her in bed at like 8:15. She had a LOT to say, but at least she was happy! Then, at 4am she woke up SCREAMING her head off. A different kind of scream than normal. I think she was scared. So I ended up climbing into the bed WITH her to calm her down. She quieted down and I expected her to go back to sleep. I should have known better from past experience. She would NOT quit moving and eventually started messing with my face so I had to climb back out and let her cry for awhile. At least the cry then wasn't scared, just her normal, I don't wanna sleep cry. The next morning she slept in till 7:45 and woke up happy. She did well through her bath but was pretty cranky after that. I was pretty ready to have her take her nap, but her Uncle Jason was coming over and she needed to open presents before lunch. She wasn't really in the mood and that was a bummer because it was our only chance. Grandma gave her a card, she threw it. We opened a present for her, she stuck her butt up in the air. Not very grateful! But she got some neat things...a water table toy, an Elmo swimsuit, a wiggle worm sprinkler and a bubble gun. After lunch I was very ready for her to nap and she napped her normal amount and was in a MUCH better mood.

Once Kaelyn got up, the rest of Sean's family had arrived and the big Easter party began. First they took birthday pictures because there are TONS of people in the family with April birthdays. Then they had an outdoor Easter egg hunt. Kaelyn had fun with that and even picked up a few eggs! She got a ball as a prize, though I have no idea where that ball is now. :) Her favorite thing about the weekend, I think, was Sean and his brother Jason running their remote control cars around. She just giggled and giggled. Especially when they build a ramp later in the day and were jumping them off that. We had supper and played outside more. It was starting to sprinkle so it was time to go in, but that was hard because Kaelyn was SO enjoying the car racing! Desserts were plentiful and she and I shared one of her blonde brownies and some Buster bar ice cream dessert, which was awesome. After that, it was bedtime so I took her to the camper and threw her in her pjs and then stuck her in my car to drive home. I was simply amazed, the kid didn't fall asleep until about 5 minutes from home! We drove for over an HOUR in the DARK with NOTHING for her to do and she just sat there with her eyes open, looking around. Luckily, when we got home, she woke up when I turned the car off, but didn't make a peep when I took her out of the car and carried her in to bed.

Unfortunately, I think when Kaelyn stays up late (over an hour later than normal that night) she seems to get up earlier. She woke up BEFORE 7am on Easter morning/her birthday. Maybe she was just excited. Ha! She was in a great mood in the morning and we played for a couple of hours before she took a bath. Once she was ready for the day, she wanted to go for a ride so we headed to Pamida. That's when the drama began. She was having TOO much fun in the sporting good section with all the balls, I guess. She pooped and then it was time to head to church anyways so we needed to lour her to the car. She didn't WANT to go to the car. She apparently wasn't done playing. Commence screaming. The first time I've ever had to drag her kicking and screaming from a store! And then proceed to attempt to change her diaper in the car WITH the kicking and screaming. Not a fun experience for anyone involved. I told her we would go back to Pamida soon and play as LONG as she wants, but she probably couldn't hear me over her screaming. She calmed down in the car ride to church, though she sat in my lap and sobbed for awhile once we got there. Poor girl. On her BIRTHDAY, even!

Once we got home from church Kaelyn didn't want to go inside for lunch. She had eaten a bowl of crackers at church and probably wasn't starving to death. She just wanted to play! So I left her and Sean outside and ate something myself and then took her lunch outside to her. She ate well on the run, literally, and then wanted to go around back to the slide. I was cool with that, but it was nearing naptime so I knew it might not be the greatest experience ever. I was SO right! There's a place in our yard that Kaelyn needs help down if she doesn't want to fall. She was getting a little bit of an attitude and didn't WANT help, so she fell. Not a big fall, I'm sure it didn't even hurt with her diaper cushioning her fall anyways. But to her, it was a MAJOR deal, more out of frustration than anything. Commence second scream session of the day. It was a huge hairy deal in her world and she would NOT calm down. Eventually I had to leave her there and start to walk around front. I knew she wouldn't like that but I also knew she would follow me. She did but it wasn't pretty! Major screaming. If there were any neighbors still asleep, we woke them, trust me! I stopped and tried to carry her several times but she would resist and fall to the ground so I just kept walking. Once we got inside I wrestled her coat and shoes off and man handled her up to bed. Normally, we would cuddle, watch videos of her and rock in the chair for around 30 minutes. But birthday or not, I was NOT going to reward her behavior with ANYTHING so I plopped her into bed, threw her her ducks and shut the door. She was pretty upset for about half an hour but eventually went to sleep. At which point I took a nap as well, I was tired after all that! She slept over TWO hours and woke up back to her old self again, thank goodness!

The afternoon was much more pleasant. After looking at a few books and eating her snack, we opened presents. We gave Kaelyn a cars bag chair to use outside and take camping. She also got two shirts from Kohls, a set of Elmo books and a potty time video, and, her favorite, an Elmo doctor kit. There is a part of the kit that makes noise...plays songs and has Cookie Monster says things. We've heard each of the 4 things it does dozens of times. She seems to really like it! After that we talked her into going outside because it was really nice and she had a great time with her bowling set and other assorted outside toys. We didn't come inside till supper time at which time we made steak. Not that Kaelyn would eat it. She was happy with her corn and roll. After supper I got out her brownie treat and put two candles in one of them. She tried to touch it, but I caught her hand in time. She looked like she tried to blow it out once, but she wasn't really trying. We played in the basement after eating and had a great evening. I was SO glad she turned her attitude around. At least PART of her birthday was pleasant for her! I just hated that she wasn't having a good day! For her AND for us!! Maybe it's because she's officially two now. :)

These pictures are an assortment of the 2 year pictures Sean took in a park a couple of weeks before her birthday. The outfit is her birthday/Easter outfit. I know it's not really a dress, just a long shirt. But that's what she's comfortable in and she can wear it all day long so I like it too! I'm not much of a dress girl myself. And I like putting Kaelyn in things she can play in all day long. I don't want to have to change her and don't see much of a point in putting her in a pretty dress to wear for one hour or JUST for a picture only to change her later. Someday, she can be a girly girl if she wants, but for now... :) She gets what she gets. This weekend we're heading to my parents for her birthday party with that side of the family so I'll update how that went after that takes place.

Kaelyn's two year check up is coming up on Tuesday as well with the doctor and on May 5th...her first dentist appointment! I don't expect either to go particularly well, but hopefully the information we get will be interesting!

To Kaelyn, Happy 2nd birthday! You are the light of my life and my favorite little girl in the WHOLE world!!!

Almost 2!

Kaelyn is officially, what they call, a 23-month old! That means she will be 2 in one month! I can't believe it and at the same time I can't believe she's not school aged. It depends on that particular day and how fast it went.

She is fascinated by anything water-related. Drinking fountains, sinks, bath tubs, and even little waterfalls at the zoo as you can see from this picture. She's kind of like my cat. She likes to drink FRESH water any chance she gets. Though I don't see how water from her dirty bath is all that fresh, but whatever! :)

I think we're going to go with Elmo again this year for
her birthday theme. She seems to be a bit obsessed with him, though I still can't figure out what it is that kids like!! Though she's not having a REAL big birthday party. I kind of wanted to get everyone together, family and friends, go to the zoo, whoever could, then have a get together at our house but with everyone's schedule it just doesn't work. I learned my lesson. Next year I'm not going to ask about schedules, I'm just going to plan whatever Kaelyn wants (assuming she cares by then!) and whoever can make it can make it and that's that! This year, we'll go to Sean's parents Friday Saturday before her birthday and have a little celebration there hopefully Friday. Then we'll go to my family's the weekend after for
a party there. We'll be home on her actual birthday (which is also ON Easter this year!) to do our own thing.

Kaelyn and I went to a church garage sale last week in town and there were plenty of kids toys and books available. But ALL she wanted to carry around was this big plastic pumpkin. There was one a little smaller than this with an actual handle, but nooo, she liked the BIG one with NO handle! Well, whatever! It was 10 cents so we got it along with a few books. And boy am I glad we did! She played with that thing ALL day! Carried it around, threw it down slides and stairs, you name it! She knew what she wanted! As you can see
she even slept with it in the car. And yes, it's March, but it's still cold so pumpkins work.

I'm starting to wonder if driving during her nap won't work much longer. I tend to like to take longer trips, like over to my parents, during Kaelyn's nap, but the last two times she's only slept an hour. She's happy when she wakes up and does just find, but she used to sleep the WHOLE way! Maybe she's getting out of that phase. A friend of mine has a son a year older and he stopped sleeping in the car around this age. There are probably too many things to see when riding.

In honor of Kaelyn's upcoming 2nd birthday I made doctor's and dentist appointments for her. Yeah! The doctor will (hopefully) be a simple appointment with a weight check and perhaps some questions. Not much poking and prodding. I still don't expect her to ENJOY it, but it's not a shot session so it will be a BIT better, perhaps. The dentist, I kind of dread. She lets me brush her teeth but she's still skittish around people she doesn't know and settings that are unfamiliar. I will hope for the best, but I pretty much expect the worse!

So watch for updates on the big 2 and doctor and dentist visits, coming to a blog near you!! :)

Chattering

I can't believe Kaelyn is almost two! She is a big Elmo fan and I have yet to figure that out. What IS it about that dude?! He can be rather annoying, but she loves him and he entertains her and therefore I love him too! She pokes him in EVERY book he is in on EVERY page. The book has not been "read" until Elmo has been thoroughly poked! I got her this Elmo shirt in Las Vegas and I'm pretty sure when she gets big enough, she will never take it off again.

Kaelyn is still changing on a daily basis. We went through a couple of rough patches after the Vegas trip. The poor thing has a sinus infection and after that cleared up she had a couple of good days. Then, on a Saturday when we were supposed to go to Sean's family's for some birthday parties, she threw up on me...FOUR times. The next day she laid on me for the entire day and by Monday she was better, and WANTED to play, but still wasn't quite herself. She'd get up and try to play, but obviously didn't have the energy so she'd just cry instead. Poor thing. She also had bad diapers every time she even THOUGHT about tooting. AFter four days she finally started eating again and that perked her up. By the time we went to my parents house for my nephew's birthday and my dad's retirement party, she was eating everything in sight.

The zoo is still one of our favorite places. I'm excited that the weather is starting to think about getting nicer so we can go more often. We go when it's semi-nice and try to stay inside, but Kaelyn just wants to run and staying anywhere for any length of time is hard! She goes where she pleases and that is that! :) She's a little monkey, she climbs EVERYTHING. I'm surprised I haven't found her on top of the kitchen fridge, that's how much she climbs. Luckily, for the most part, she knows when she needs help with her climbing ventures and lets me at least hold her hand. She's one crazy little climber. If it'll hold still long enough, she'll climb it.

We've also enjoyed the children's museum quite a few times over the winter. I feel like everytime we go there KAelyn gets a cold, but we can't just sequester ourselves so we go anyways. She's feeling more and more at home
there and now leads me around as if she owns the place.

Her hair is getting long fast, but it always falls into her eyes, it just will NOT stay back. So I always put in a rubber band or two to keep it out of her face. IT tickles her and she rubs her eyes and nose a lot so she prefers it out of the way too. However, putting a rubber band on a wiggly kid is NOT always easy. And sometimes naptime does quite a number on the hairdo, as you can see from the picture. That one ponytail would NOT lay down, no matter what I did. It was pretty cute, really. And it's not like she cared!! IT's just a good thing we didn't have a picture scheduled or something! :)


Kaelyn still doesn't talk much, but she IS trying. She says mama and daddy and I do and bwah-ah. :) Even though she doesn't talk with words, the last week or so she has been chattering CONSTANTLY. She just talks and talks nonsense words like she has an on-going story to tell. It's quite cute and I talk right back as if we're having a real conversation. People out in public probably either think it's cute, or that I'm crazy. Either way, we enjoy it so whatever! :)

Bathtime is still one of the best times of the day. Kaelyn still doesn't really sit STILL, but at least she's sequestered in one area! She has fun with her ducks and other assorted rubber bath items. One of these days she's going to wake up and all of those nonsense words are going to be REAL words and THEN watch out.

It sure is interesting how many kids are wrapped up in this one kid! :) When she's sick she's a totally different person. She either just lays in my arms looking at me like HELP mama, or she cries all day. When she's feeling good she eats SO much, plays SO hard, and giggles like a crazy woman. I like that kid MUCH better.

I'm still not sure how preschool is going to work someday. I can leave KAelyn with my mom and Sean and that's that. She's still pretty afraid of other people she doesn't know and she's skittish around kids and REALLY shy. I imagine when the time comes we'll just have to bite the bullet and DO it. I wonder if the separation will be harder on her or me, really.

Her birthday isn't working out like I'd hoped but the good news is that she doesn't care! Her birthday is actually ON Easter so that complicates things. Being in April, there are a lot of other events happening and people simply get booked up. So I think we're going to have two separate family parties again this year and call it good. Next year, hopefully we can do something special because she might know it's her birthday by then and be more excited about it.

EVeryday is a new adventure, that's for sure. You never know one day to the next what she will do, when she will get up, what she will eat. She keeps me hopping...and guessing! I'm a very schedule-oriented person so sometimes I don't like that, but what do you do! A kid is a kid and I'm glad she's mine!

Kaelyn says mama

The big day has ARRIVED! Kaelyn has been saying bwah-ah for quite some time. After that she started saying "I do" for the longest time. She makes plenty of other noises, but none are real words...not that bwah-ah is, but she says it so much is has BECOME a real word around here. Then, on January 1st, she distinctly started saying daddy when I asked her to say it. I have a video of that too, but she's in the tub so I don't think I'll post it. It's REALLY cute how she was saying it. She was almost whispering and she had this twinkle in her eye like she knew this was an exciting event. Since that time, I have been working on her to say Mama too. It's just not fair she says daddy and dada but NOTHING for me. I ask her to say Mama and she just points to me or pounds my leg. I always think, Kaelyn, I KNOW where I AM, but can you SAY Mama! :) Apparently she finally worked up the nerve to give in to my ways. February 1st she started saying Mama and I reacted SO strongly that she knew it was a good thing, so she would finally even say it when I asked. YEAH! She doesn't say it as often as daddy, but she CAN say it so I'm thrilled.

She also makes many animal noises, though some of them sound quite a bit a like. She can quack like a duck rather well and moo like a cow, though it sounds more like boo. She does a great bark for a dog. The baa for the sheep and the meow for the cat sound alike most of the time. But the pig is a sound I can't even describe. It's a gutteral grunt from the back of her throat and it's hilarious.

Now that I know Kaelyn can say Mama, she can say whatever word she WANTS next. Though I would prefer if she held off on 'no' for awhile longer!!

Vegas trip day two

Our second day in Vegas...We got up and ready slowly. I went to the main floor and got some muffins for breakfast and we hit the streets to explore the other side of the strip before Sean's afternoon meeting. We walked through the hotel that had the Elvis show and ended up at a burger place in the New York hotel for lunch. We were both very full again and wondered why we hadn't shared a meal. I guess they probably wouldn't have made Hal the burger plain for me with the other half filled with stuff for Sean.

So far I've only called home once today. The Kaelyn repetitive is that she feeling much better and acting like a different kid than yesterday. That makes me feel better too. I don't like being away from her either way much less when she's sick. I know she'll be fine by I'm still her mama and I want to be there when she needs me!

On the other hand it's been so nice for Sean and I to get away and spend some real time together. We get to actually talk! It's been awhile that's or sure. So this is good for all involved. I’m just hoping Kaelyn remembers me!

We walked back to our hotel and I got my plane ticket for my trip home printed. He headed to our room to rest for a bit before his meeting and I headed for the spa! I sat in the whirlpool there for awhile then got a massage. It was very relaxing. I felt like I melted into the table. She even rubbed my hands and feet! Very nice. After that I felt very drowsy so I went back to the room and laid aroud and read for a few minutes before venturing out again.

I called home...again...but only twice today instead of three times so I'm getting better! I got lost but eventually made it to the Venetian to pick up our blue man group tickets. Got lost again..then found the box office before wandering the shops waiting for Sean to get done and meet me. There are a lot of brides running around here today. I even saw a couple get married on the gondola ride. They looked so in love. :)

Sean and I met by the blue man group theater before the show. It was a great show. Really funny and plenty entertaining. I liked I much better than the beatles show. They did some drumming with paint and beat on other various pipes and other weird instruments. I expected more of that but there was a lot more to it. Catching marshmallows in their mouths...doing art...harassing the audience. It waS cool. We walked back to our hotel after goof through the bally’s and Paris shops areas. And that was the day!

Sunday I it up and ready and took a cab to the airport to head home. Can't WAIT to see Kaelyn though I would have liked more time in vegas as well. I was sore enough after the two days of walking that sitting on the plane didn’t sound too bad really! I got to the airport plenty early and got through security so I had time to finish the book I was reading and grab a snack. I actually got a seat in the FRONT row of the plane by the window so that was nice! I made it home and my dad picked me up at the airport. As I expected, Kaelyn glanced my way when I got home like, hey, it’s you! And then continued to play. Glad my being away didn’t affect her TOO much!

It was a great trip but at the same time I’m glad to be home again with Kaelyn. I really don’t like being away from her, though I know it’s good for both of us. She still has a cold or illness of some kind so I’m glad to be back with her for that. Hopefully we can go to Vegas again someday and explore more! Sean got to stay a few extra days for “work.”

Vegas trip day one

The long awaited Vegas trip finally arrived. Though I have to admit...as excited as I was to go I also didn't want to go. The longest I had ever been away from Kaelyn was about ten hours. This was going to be two whole nights and three days!! I always thought she was the one who suffered from separation anxiety but now I wonder if it's really me with the problem! I'm just not used to being away from her! But we left the house at 730am before she woke up. That in itself was hard but probably easier than seeing her

We got to Vegas at 1030 their time. Felt like 1230 to us. We got a ride to our hotel...paris! Dropped off our things in the room and hit the streets to look around and find lunch.

We ate at the Harley davidson cafe. Sean was happy that way. There were motorcycles going around the top of the room on tracks or something. It was really good and I had enough tea to keep me going for quite some time. After lunch we started strolling the hotels. This is my third trip here and I'm still in awe. Especially of the themed hotels that look like actual streets inside. Each hotel is a city on it's own. I think you could stay in one hotel for your whole trip and have plenty to do. I think we liked the Venetian the best. There was a love statue there. And gondola rides which we stood and watched for awhile.

At 530 we wanted to catch the live free show outside treasure island. We had never timed it right to see it before. It was so totally lame I couldn't believe it. I think it could have been quite cool but instead of making a cool pirate show it was more about booty if you know what I mean. I guess that's Vegas for you

We were still pretty full from lunch so we just grabbed some big cookies from Starbucks and went to our beetles cirque du soleil love show. We saw a different cirque du soleil show a fee year ago and I still say it was the coolest thing I've ever seen. This show was cool too but they didn't do nearly as much of the flippy circus stuff so I was disappointed by that. There was some but I think the show was more dancing and symbolic stuff about the songs. Which I didn’t really care about. It was still cool but I would o see the other one again and I would not see the beetles one again.

After that we walked back to our hotel which was a fair distance. We grabbed a snack downstairs an went to bed at 10. That may sound sad being in Vegas and all but that was midnight our time and I'd been up since 5 and we walked for like eight hours straight! I'm making excuses. We're just old and we were tired!! :)

Christmas 2010

Christmas really sneaked up on me this year. I think it's partly because the weather hasn't been TOO terribly bad. But it came either way and I was somewhat prepared for it. Our plans seemed to keep shifting and shaping but we eventually got everything settled. Sean, Kaelyn and I actually started opening our presents the weekend before Christmas. It was nice to spread it out a little! Sean gave Kaelyn her gift from him first...his old musical keyboard! We set it up on the toy box and she stands and plays beautiful music all the time. She also likes to climb on and over the keyboard which also makes interesting sounds! :) Next, we gave her a Zhu zhu pet. It seemed like a good idea. It was small and furry and would run around on the ground so she could chase it. Well, she seemed a little interested at first, but when she couldn't actually CATCH the thing, she got mad. Now every time she sees it she yells at it. I'm not sure if she was scared of it or just frustrated that she had trouble catching it. Either way, I'm glad it didn't cost much because we haven't been playing with it. Sean and I also gave Kaelyn a big playset that we set up in the basement back in November. It was meant to be a Christmas present but we set it up when the weather started to get cold so we'd have more to do inside. It has two slides, one down each side, a couple of steps, a steering wheel, and has been all sorts of fun for her. She likes to throw her animals on wheels down the slides along with assorted balls and other things. She slides as well and has recently taken her bubble popper toy downstairs to put that down the slide as well. We saved her last gift for right before we left on our Christmas adventures. I gave her an Elmo toy that sings 10 different songs. She mostly seems to like the chicken dance song and stomps along. Occasionally she will push another button and I am always grateful for that. But hey, I don't care if she makes a lot of noise, as long as she's not yelling at me, I'm happy! So play that chicken dance, girl!! :) Elmo had to go along with us on our travels because he needed to be poked more than just for the one day.

We started our adventure by driving to Des Moines to stay with my parents. We went on Thursday the 23rd during Kaelyn's nap. When we unpacked at their house, it was like we were moving in. 4 days is a long time! :) On Christmas Eve we spend the morning at my parents house playing around and then headed to Chick-Fil-A at the mall for lunch. It was my kind of day! :) Because it was snowing a little, there weren't many people there so that was nice. Ah yes, a white Christmas. I think I would have preferred a WARM Christmas, but whatever. After Kaelyn got up from her nap we headed over to Sean's brother's house. He lives about 15 minutes away from my parents so that was handy. It worked out nicely travel-wise for us this year. Sean's brother and his wife just had a baby in October and weren't up for traveling yet so they invited his immediate family over there to celebrate. That was great because that meant we didn't have to try to travel 3 1/2 hours between the two families in a short amount of time. We still got to see everyone and only had to drive one direction. The bummer of it was that Kaelyn did not cooperate with me pretty much all afternoon. It wasn't much fun for me. I don't know if it was her cold (she'd had a little one for a couple of weeks), being in a different house, being grumpy after her nap, or any number of combinations. It was just a rough afternoon. She kept wanting to go to the basement. It was a small, unfinished area and there wasn't much down there. I usually went just to keep her happy. But sometimes, like when opening presents, we just couldn't take off. And that made her MAD. She also wanted to crawl and stand on the counters where others were preparing food. That's not really a good idea and I wouldn't let her. That made her MAD as well. I got yelled at a lot and wasn't able to enjoy the afternoon or evening because trying to keep her semi happy was taking ALL my energy and then some. She even yelled through much of the present opening. Finally, just before 8, I had had enough. It was close to bed time anyways so I threw her in her pjs and took off. I hope I didn't seem too rude. I didn't take time to say much to anyone, I just went. I was SO tired of being screamed at! Kaelyn didn't fall asleep on the drive back to my parents house but when I put her in bed there she didn't make a peep. She must have known I couldn't take one more little yell! :) I left her there in bed to sleep and when my parents got home from church I went back to Sean's brother's house. We played bop it and there were a few more gifts to open. I fell asleep on the couch eventually, but it was the nicest time I had ALL day. Other than Chick-fil-A, maybe! ;) It was so peaceful and quiet and I could talk to everyone and enjoy the evening without having to entertain or be screamed at for no particular reason. Ahhh.

Christmas Day Kaelyn seemed to be in better spirits. We were all pretty lazy and it took until Kaelyn's nap time for all of us to get ready and showered and dressed etc. Even Kaelyn slept in. And I let her! I didn't want her getting up ANY earlier than necessary. I think it was about 9 before she finally decided to see the light of day. She was worn out from all the screaming! :) So we lounged around and after her nap that afternoon, we headed to my sister's house to see my niece and nephew's new toys. They had chili for supper. Kaelyn enjoyed playing in their school room which had some desks and chairs she could climb and some balloons she could toss. She also enjoyed playing in their big walk-in pantry, of all places! She liked investigating all the items, I guess, and climbing on the little step stool. Whatever, she was happy! I wasn't able to visit with everyone as much since I was playing with her in other rooms, but at least I wasn't being screamed at! We headed home before her bedtime and got back to my parents house in time to let her run a bit and then head to bed.

On Sunday the 26th we went to a 9:30 church service at my parents church. Kaelyn LOVES playing on the ramps at that church. It's usually no big deal and I don't feel like it bothers anyone. But lately, she's enjoyed being chased and hiding from me and having me find her etc.
Well, at church, she would go up the ramp and as she thundered back down she would see me again and it was like I "found" her and this illicited excited screams. I didn't think AHHHH in the middle of the silent prayer was a good thing, but at least she was happy! Eventually she got done with the ramps and we were able to sit and look at her books for most of the rest of the service. I guess she wore out? Is that possible? Um no! :) We went back to my parents for lunch and my sister and her gang came over. After we ate we opened our stockings quickly and I put Kaelyn in bed for her nap. Once she was awake the present opening began! It took her a little while to wake up but once she did and realized what was going on, boy did she have fun. This was the first time she really got into opening presents. She didn't care what was in them once the paper was off, but boy did she love opening the paper! She couldn't open them fast enough. She'd open one and then reach for the next. Sean was just trying to keep up and make sure she wasn't opening other people's presents as she brought them out. Which she did...mine!! I think I only opened maybe half of mine and some things I didn't even know I got until I packed things up the next day! Oh well, she was having fun so who cares! She got a lot of neat new toys and some clothes and pjs too. She's one happy girl! After all the craziness I think Kaelyn was ready to get away. The gifts were done and she had nothing left to tear apart so rather than play with all her new things she grabbed my finger and took me upstairs to chase her with her favorite Tiger toy. I think she just needed a little peace and to get back to the norm for a little while. It was hard for me to have to stay away from the group again. Play like we always play at home and all. But I figured at least she was happy and that was better than trying to force her to be in a room she didn't want to be in and have her scream at me.

The rest of the day went pretty fast and we just played and played. When Kaelyn went to bed my niece wanted to watch Ramona and Beezus. That was pretty cute. The next day, it was all over. It was still crazy because we were all in one house, but the major chaos was behind us. We all packed up and headed to the mall for lunch. Sean, Kaelyn and I went early so she could play for awhile and get some running in. She did plenty of that! Then we ate at Chick-Fil-A again and went our separate ways. We drove home and Kaelyn fell asleep before we hit the interstate and slept the WHOLE way. I think she was really worn out from it all!

The night we got back, Kaelyn coughed ALL night long. I think I got maybe 3 hours of sleep. As I mentioned she'd had a little cold for several weeks. But I was getting worried that it was sticking around and didn't like the sounds of the cough so I took her to the doctor our first morning back home. It turns out she has her FIRST ear infection and possibly sinus infection as well. The doctor was impressed that this was her FIRST visit to the office other than regular check up and shot visits. Her left ear is pretty bad and the right ear slightly infected as well. She's on antibiotics for 10 days. So far that hasn't been fun. The first dose ended up back on her shirt after I put it in her mouth! :) But after just two doses, she only woke up twice last night coughing and only for 15 minutes instead of 2 hours like the night before. SO hopefully she's on the mend already. Maybe that was part of the issue CHristmas Eve? Who knows! She's not telling!!

Overall it was a great Christmas. We got everything we could have wanted and more, and more importantly, got to spend time with family. We have one more Christmas celebration New Year's Eve weekend so hopefully that will make up for KAelyn's attitude CHristmas Eve since the party is with Sean's family again. I hope she's an angel this time around! For her sake AND for mine! And everyone else's for that matter!

Merry Christmas and have a great 2011!!